15 Hacks For A Healthy Back-To-Busy Season

In early childhood, kids’ produce consumption meets recommended levels, yet it falls off as they enter school-age years. Easy hacks can help your kids continue to eat fruits and veggies as a lifelong habit as routine as brushing teeth!

As you plan for back-to-school this year, check out these 15 hacks to get more fruits and veggies into pre-school fuel, lunch boxes, and afterschool snacks.

School Mornings Destressed

• Set up a “smoothie station” with various fruits and yogurt. Include walnuts as a way to boost omega-3 ALA (2.5g/oz). Allow kids to blend their own concoction in a blender or smoothie maker.
• Mash ripe bananas with eggs to make a simple pancake batter. Cook small pancakes on a griddle until golden brown for a naturally sweet breakfast treat.
• Batch cook oatmeal, spoon it into muffin tins, top with your kids’ favorite fruits and walnuts, and freeze. Once frozen, store in to-go containers. On busy mornings, microwave or let thaw.
• Top whole wheat toast with cottage cheese and leftover roasted veggies (savory) or cottage cheese, sliced fruit, and a dash of cinnamon (sweet).
• Prepare customized fruit salad kits in mason jars for grab-and-go breakfasts during the school commute.

Lunch Box Magic

• Cook some whole-grain pasta and pair with nutritious mix-ins like chopped hard-boiled eggs and a couple of your kids’ favorite veggies. Serve it as a “deconstructed” meal so they can have fun mixing it up at lunchtime.
• Using your favorite whole grain wrap, layer with mashed avocado, low sodium deli ham, hummus, and string cheese.
• A lunch box with separate compartments offers visual appeal to make meals more fun. Add nutritious foods like fruit, veggie sticks, hard-boiled eggs, unsweetened wholegrain cereal, hummus, or trail mix.
• When adding new veggies to school lunch, add notes with silly names such as “Broccoli Bob” or “Carrot the Explorer.” Encourage kids to create stories about the veggie characters.
• Take your favorite cowboy caviar recipe and add leftover chopped pork tenderloin or pork chop. Serve with chips or celery for a delicious and filling lunch.

Snack Attack Solved

• Make a fruit salsa with diced strawberries, pineapples, and Granny Smith apples. Serve as a snack with homemade cinnamon tortilla chips.
• Extra kids visiting after school? Keep your freezer stocked with unicorn wands, made by placing berries on a stick, rolling in yogurt, and freezing.
• Create a rainbow charcuterie board with raspberries, orange and yellow pepper slices, green beans, blueberries, and purple grapes. Store in the fridge for after school snacks.
• Have tacos the night before? Add leftover pork taco meat to a small container and layer with diced cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, black beans and shredded cheese.
• Make watermelon pizza. Cut a thick slice, top it with feta cheese, onions, basil and a drizzle of balsamic. Or top with yogurt and diced fruit. Slice for a healthy pizza your kids will love.
• Kids can prep these easy snack pairings on their own: apples + walnuts, grapes + string cheese, carrot sticks + hummus, cottage cheese + pineapple chunks.